A heated debate broke out in Armenia’s National Assembly between Arthur Khachatryan of the Armenia faction and Vahagn Aleksanyan of the ruling Civil Contract party over the proposed universal income declaration system.

As reported by Pastinfo, Khachatryan accused the government of misleading citizens, stating: “Dear compatriots, they are deceiving you. This bill is not about verifying income; it is about imposing new taxes.”

He added, “Do you think the government is simply curious about transfers over 300,000 drams? No. First, those working abroad will be taxed, then farmers. This has nothing to do with fostering a culture of declaration.”

Responding to these claims, Aleksanyan argued that the opposition’s real motive is to prevent citizens from accessing social benefits linked to the new initiative. “The opposition’s goal is simple—to ensure as few citizens as possible can benefit from the social credits enabled by this bill. So far, 12,000 citizens have received an average of 90,000 drams in refunds from their payments. The opposition wants fewer people to receive these payments, so public dissatisfaction increases,” he said.

Starting November 1, all salaried workers in Armenia will be required to submit an annual income declaration. Those who file and have made social expenditures—such as health or education expenses—for themselves or family members during the year may qualify for compensation through the social expense refund system.